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Elton Manguwo

THE GOVERNMENT’S call for insurance providers to offer products tailor-made to suit farmers’ specific needs seems to have fallen on fertile ground with insurers now availing insurance covers matching farmer’s specific needs at low premiums.

Speaking during the training of Agritex provincial heads on agricultural risk management in Kadoma last week the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (CZI) risk manager Mr Gasper Mazuru said agriculture insurance had evolved to accommodate farmers to ensure they were insulated against unforeseen circumstances.

Climate change challenges have made it necessary for farmers to insure projects against losses that can frustrate production.

More so, insurance can help farmers improve on agronomic practices while ensuring high production and productivity.

“Insurance companies make sure all agronomic practices required for the success of the insured crop are met to reduce risk before they take up an insurer,” said Mr Mazuru.

Throughout the training programme, farmers reminded on the need to accurate identify the nature of risk so that they take up the correct insurance package they want to cut down on premiums whilst guaranteeing protection. 

“Risk identification is an important detail before one takes up insurance so that one buys what he or she wants for specific risks that he or she is exposed to thereby keeping the costs affordable,” said Mr Mazuru.

Insurance uptake in the country has been on an all-time low with only 3, 5 percent of the country’s farmers having insurance.

Mr Mazuru added: “Through our stakeholder engagement activities, we noted that there was lack of insurance knowledge and its benefits among the farming communities and therefore this training programme is aimed at bridging that knowledge gap through the capacitation of Agritex officers that are in constant touch with farmers.”

He also observed that there was general mistrust between farmers and players in the country’s insurance industry, allegedly because of hidden clauses in the insurance contracts that are sold to farmers by agents.

The clauses are said to be a disadvantage to the farmer, hence the need for the training programme largely seen as a timely intervention to build trust between the two parties.

“Issues to do with insurance are very secretive and it’s very difficult for farmers to take up insurance covers under unclear conditions therefore farmers shy away from the whole system,” added Matabeleland North crop and livestock officer Mr Dumisani Nyoni.

The Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) secretary-general Mr Paul Zakariya shared Mr Nyoni sentiments pointing out that farmers have had bad experiences with insurance companies, as they were never made aware of some salient details that hindered them from accessing cover.

To increase efficiencies insurance companies that cover agriculture are now equipped with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that report on the latest environmental and climate developments so that claims are prepared cutting on processes that usually discouraged farmers from taking insurance cover. 

Insurance cover can help farmers in accessing capital from financial institutions, as they can be used to guarantee production and returns.